Get Ready, Get Set, Go
by emmettsmyfave
Summary: It was hard enough loosing her dad, now she thinks she has to loose everything else she knows, just to go to spy school. Cammie thinks she's all alone, but she's not. Will her first day be better than she thought? or much much worse? short fic pre LYKY!
1. Get Ready

**This is a three shot and the next chapter will be up soon. I promise. This will probably be my last story/one-shot/two-shot for a while, so enjoy it while it lasts!**

Three months ago, Mom had gotten a phone call. It's a day I would never want to relive. Ever. Dad failed to show up for debriefing after completing the mission. All the information was classified. They couldn't even tell her what country he was in. Two weeks later, Mom decided that she was going to retire from being a spy. She said that she wouldn't be able to do that to me. That I needed at least one parent, that I couldn't loose both.

Mom put our house up for sale a week ago. Two months after Dad disappeared. When I asked her where we were moving, she said it was to a place where she spent a lot of time when she was a girl, and that she wanted to go home. Now I know that "home" was in Thomasville, Georgia, but I have a feeling that that's not what she's talking about.

"Oh, Cam, I'm going to miss you so much!" Lily sobbed on my shoulder.

"I'm going to miss you too. And I don't want to leave any more than you want me to leave."

Lily was the closest friend I have, which wasn't very close, seeing as because of what my parents do, I couldn't get real close to anyone, just in case we had to move on really short notice.

"Promise me you'll email," she begged.

"Yeah. I promise Lily. Now I just have to pack the last of my things." I had put off packing the things my dad had given me for a reason.

"What do you have to pack, I'll help-oh. I'll go and see if your mom needs any help."

"Thanks Lily. You're the best. I think she's in the kitchen."

"'Kay, call me when you're ready to put your stuff in the van," she said as she walked out of my room.

I pulled the sheet off that was covering the things Dad got me or that reminded me of him. It hurt more than I thought it should to see all the things again, but I'm a Morgan, I can do it. So taking a deep breath, I grabbed a box and a marker and wrote "Dad's stuff" on the side. I set the marker aside and gently removed all the trinkets Dad had given me over the years.

I dusted them off carefully and wrapped them in the bubble wrap Mom had given me and stored them in the box. There were things from China, France, India, Russia, Singapore, and many other places from around the world. But the most precious thing that I had was the picture of Dad, Mom and I in front of the Christmas tree from when I was four. Mom had left for a mission a week before Christmas and didn't get back until the end of March. So we had Christmas in March that year. Everyone was there, Grandma and Grandpa Morgan, Aunt Abby, even one of Dad's friends, but I can't remember his name or what he looked like, since he was the one taking the picture and I was four. But I carefully packed it away on the top of the box and taped it shut, packing my memories away.

I stood up and looked around my room, making sure I didn't forget anything. It didn't even look like my room. I mean, my furniture was still here, Mom said that I wouldn't be needing it and we would be leaving it here, but the bright orange walls were bare, the hot pink furniture had nothing on them to make the room look lived in. It was boring. I looked under the bed to find only a dust bunny or two. My closet was empty, as was my dresser.

I held back my tears as I turned to leave, leaving my old, much happier life behind. I picked up the box and walked down the steps. Our whole house was in boxes. Some of the furniture was packed up and in storage. Mom said it was in case she wanted to get a small apartment or a safe house.

"All packed, sweetie?" Mom asked, carrying a box out of the kitchen.

"Yeah. This is the last one."

"I know this isn't easy, but you know we have to move, right?"

"No. Why can't we stay here? In D.C.? I like it here. This is my home. My safe house."

"It's mine too. But we can't stay, besides, I already have another job, and you're going to like it there. I promise."

"But where _is_ there? You told me that you'd tell me soon, and that was a month ago."

She lowered her voice, seeing as Lily was still in the kitchen, "I'll tell you once Lily leaves. It's not exactly common knowledge."

I gave a loud sigh and proceeded out to the moving van, carefully wedging my box between two other large boxes where it wouldn't slide around and the things inside wouldn't be broken. Mom gave me a sad smile and stacked her boxes in the back of the van. It was almost full, but we'd be able to fit the rest of the things in. The rest of the boxes were soon all in, and it was time to say goodbye to Lily.

Both our eyes filled with tears as we hugged goodbye. She had been there for me when Mom or Dad had gone on a mission, trying to cheer me up and make me focus on other things. We had other friends, but today, they were still in school. Lily's mom let her take the first day off so she could be there when I left.

"I'll miss you," I choked out as Lily's mom pulled up behind the moving van.

"So will I. Good luck at your new school, I know you'll need it."

"Thanks Lily. For the luck and for everything else."

"Everything else was for my benefit as well, you know," she teased.

"Yeah, I know. But thank you for it anyway. Goodbye, Lily. And never forget me."

"I won't, but the same goes for you as well." She got into the car then and I waved until I couldn't see her anymore. Mom was still standing by the door to the house, not locking up or anything, just leaning against the doorframe. "Come inside. You'll want to say goodbye to the house at least one more time, and I'm still waiting for Patricia and Harvey to get here so they can drive my car down."

"'Kay Mom." It was an order, a subtly given one, but and order all the same. I passed through hallways and rooms, just wandering, not really saying goodbye, I did that months ago, after Dad had…when I realized that Mom would want to move after she retired.

Mom was on the phone, I could hear her, but I didn't want to get to close to try to overhear what she was saying because she was the best spy I know, even if she was a retired one.

"See you in a few Harvey," Mom said, but I barely made it out through our almost sound proof walls. I would be here for only a few more minutes before I left for my new home, wherever that was.

"Mom?" I called.

"Yes sweetie?"

"Where's home? Lily's gone, you said you'd tell me."

She walked into the living room and plopped down on the cheap sofa we bought last week, we were taking the old one with us. "Have a seat." I curled up against her, knowing that she liked having me there, tangible, where she could hug me if she wanted to. "Home is now the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. It's where I went to school.'

"You mean spy school?" Even I knew that she had gone to spy school, I was just never given a name.

"Yes, spy school. You'll be attending there and spending your summers with Grandma and Grandpa Morgan." She glanced at my face, "You know that that doesn't mean that you have to be a spy, right? You can do whatever you want, you'll just have a higher education that other kids."

"I know Mom. But I want to be a spy, like you, like Aunt Abby, like…Dad, and like Grandma Cameron. I'm already a CIA legend and it's in my blood. Besides, you wouldn't be sending me to spy school if Dad didn't want it too."

"I know you're kind of having a moment, but if you want to get there before dinner, we'd better get going," a voice said from behind me causing me to jump. "And don't worry Cammie, we'll fix that jumping."

I turned around to see an elderly-ish lady sanding behind me with her hands on her hips. I quickly stood up, remembering my manners that Mom had taught me. Mom tossed her a set of keys, "We'll be right behind you Patricia. Kiddo, this is Professor Buckingham. She teaches Covert Operations which you start in your sophomore year."

Professor Buckingham eyed me up then, I felt as if every little thing about me was being catalogued, but than again, it probably was. "She'll survive. It's bred into her. See you there," she said as she turned and walked out the front door.

"That means that it's time to get going. You didn't leave anything here, did you?"

"No, my purse is already in the van."

"Let's go then, she won't wait forever. And don't worry about what she said, it's just the way she is, and it's always good to have someone like her on your side."

Mom looked at me then and handed the key out, it was a question, did I want to lock up for the last time or not? I took the key from her hands and locked all my memories away, mine to open up whenever I wished.

Mom started the moving van, and merged into rush hour traffic and headed to our new home.

**Well, tell me what you think and if I should write the next two chapters. Now I know some of you just read my author's note on my other story and I said that I wouldn't be writing any more stories, but I needed to finish up the few Gallagher Girl ones in my head, and trust me they were all written and I only had to edit them. Please review!!**


	2. Get Set

Chapter 2: Get Set

"And this is Roseville. It still looks the same…" Mom trailed off, remembering.

"Are we soon there? My butt hurts from sitting so long," I whined. The trip was fun, Mom told me about some of the things her and Aunt Abby used to do at Gallagher, and warned me not to try them, or there would be some harsh consequences that she'd yet to tell me.

"Rule number one: spies are always patient, no matter how much their butt hurts."

"Yes, Mom."

"And to answer your question, only a few more minutes. You'll be able to see it as soon as we're around this corner," with that, Mom turned the corner.

There was a very large mansion sitting gracefully atop a hill, the walls were thick and covered with ivy, and the gate in the front looked like something straight out of horror movie, not that I've seen one or anything…

It was nothing like what I expected. I thought that it would be something high tech looking, but it was the complete opposite. It looked like it was about 200 years old, and would have fallen down if it wasn't taken care of so well.

"What do you think?"

"It's…beautiful. Is that all of it?" Because it sure didn't look like it could house 100 students, a bunch of teachers, and a whole school.

"No, you can't see the barn from here, that's where you'll have P&E, and there's the basement and the sublevels. You won't be able to get into the sublevels until you're a sophomore, don't even think about trying Cam."

I sighed. My mother knew me just a little too well. "Don't you mean PE?"

"No. P&E is short for Protection and Enforcement. That's where you'll learn how to fight."

"So who do we practice on because you said that Gallagher Girls never fight each other?"

"Gallagher Girls never fight for real, but they don't mind practicing on each other, that's what sisters are for."

"Oh." I guess I would get the hang of things, but I guess I'll get the hang of it, and everyone else would be new as well, so we'd all get used to it together.

Mom drove through the huge wrought iron gates, following Professor Buckingham up to the front door. As we pulled to a stop, the doors opened, and a bunch of people stood waiting to greet us.

"Hello everyone. You didn't have to come early to greet us, this is your summer break too."

"Do you really blame them for wanting to welcome a Gallagher graduate back into the safety of our school?" Professor Buckingham asked. "You might not remember Rachel, but teachers always come back before the students. And we wanted to meet you and Cameron before school started in a few days."

"I guess I did remember, it's just been a while and I have other things on my mind. Cammie, these are your teachers whom you'll meet over the next few days, and I would really like to show you around, but we, well, mostly I, should unpack. I'll let you explore on your own, then you can go on the tour when the rest of the seventh graders get here in tomorrow."

"'Kay, Mom. But can you show me where my room is first?"

"I'll be glad to show her the room she'll be sharing, and we're all set for the first day, so we can help you bring boxes in," Professor Buckingham offered.

"Thank you Prof-Patricia. It's going to take a little bit to get rid of that habit." Mom opened the back of the van and the teachers quickly descended upon it unpacking a van faster than I thought possible.

"Grab some of your boxes Cameron then follow me," Buckingham ordered. I grabbed two boxes and was about to follow her when someone smiled sadly at me and placed the box that I wedged between the others on top. It was marked Dad's Stuff. I looked away and followed Buckingham into Gallagher Academy, almost loosing sight of her as she disappeared up the spiral staircase.

"This way Cameron," she called as I hurried up the stairs. I was led down a series of hallways and up another set of stairs. As we passed a door, Professor Buckingham commented, "This is the seventh grade common room, the seventh grade rooms are all in this hallway. You'll be using these rooms for the rest of your stay at Gallagher Academy." She led me to the end of the hallway where she opened the doorway. "You're lucky. You get a corner room and you'll only be sharing it with two other girls who will be arriving tomorrow. I'll let them tell you about themselves. And now I'm sure you would like to unpack by yourself."

I'm not sure how she did it, but for an elderly lady, she gracefully dismissed me and swept out of the room at the same time, but I guess that comes with so many years of experience and being a former spy.

I didn't have much to unpack, but I found that one advantage of getting here earlier than everyone else was that I got first choice of the beds. I had a few things scattered around the room, but I mostly kept my things to my areas, we'd figure things out as we went I guess.

All unpacked, I had about 2 hours to kill before I was to meet everyone in the grand hall for dinner. I had to find it first, so I set out to wander through the halls. They were all stone, and the halls had beautiful runners. There were tapestries covering parts of the walls, but there was one that caught my eye, a family tree. I glanced over it and found that it was Gillian Gallagher's, the woman that turned her home into spy school. I noticed a little bump towards the top, so I pulled the tapestry back, assuming someone put their gum there and I wasn't willing to blindly stick my hand in someone's spent gum.

Buy I didn't find gum, instead I found a little sword. Odd, I thought. Weird, who would hide that behind a tapestry? Even if it was the Gallagher Family Tree Tapestry. But, this _is_ a school for spies…I tried to turn the sword to the left but nothing happened. Maybe to the right…Bingo. The wall silently eased back and I silently eased into it, right into a spider web. "Eww!" I screeched, quickly pulling all the spider webs off of me.

Then I realized where I was. I was in the secret passages of Gallagher Academy. From the looks of it, this one wasn't used very often. I wondered how many other girls found this one. It was neat and scary at the same time, but I _had_ to keep going. What kind of spy was I going to be if I didn't run into a secret passage and not see where it went?

I kept one hand in front of me at all times, trying to deflect the spider webs from my face. It was so peaceful and quiet. I would have to remember this in case I needed an escape. Only when I reached a window did I realize that I could see and that it wasn't dark yet.

It was a window seat and I climbed up and curled up. The seat was cold and hard, but it was a good thinking spot. And unintentionally I started thinking about the one thing that I didn't want to thing about. Dad.

He was my role model, and even if he wasn't still with me, I could still strive to be like him. I was looking forward to meeting my roommates tomorrow, but yet scared at the same time. I had no idea what they would be like or if any of their parents were spies. Mom said that some of the girls would have no spy experience at all. Some of them would be first generation Gallagher Girls.

It was starting to get dark and I knew I should probably start finding the Grand Hall; it shouldn't be that hard, I only needed to retrace my steps.

Ten minutes later I was entering the Grand Hall just in time for dinner. The teachers were assembled at the table on the platform thing and there was a place for me, all by myself, at one of the tables along one of the walls. Now I really can't wait for tomorrow so that I'll have someone to talk to.

I studied the teachers while I ate. They were getting to know Mom, or reacquainting themselves in Professor Buckingham's case. I didn't know all of their names, but they were interesting to watch.

After I finished my meal, I sat and studied my surroundings, surprised that I was actually here. It seemed like a dream, one that I would wake up from to go downstairs and find Mom making pancakes and Dad gazing lovingly at her.

But sadly, it wasn't a dream. I was here, and on my way to a life of lying. I said goodnight to my Mom, and made my way up to my room and got ready for bed.

For the first time in a while, I picked up the music box Dad got me when he was in England visiting friends, and wound it up. I put it on the nightstand and crawled into bed, letting the music drift me to sleep.

Tomorrow would be a big day…

**And that's it. I know it's kind of boring, but tomorrow she'll meet Bex and Liz. And it will possibly be the last chapter. Please review guys! I really love them!**


	3. Go

**Sorry 'bout the delay, people. I was trying to get it just right, so here you go!**

Chapter 3: Go

I woke up then next day tired and scared. Where was I? Then yesterday crashed into my head. Saying goodbye to Lily, saying goodbye to my house, saying hello to Gallagher. I swallowed and got out of bed, pulling on my favorite jeans and one of Dad's old t-shirts. I pulled my hair up in a ponytail and brushed my teeth.

I opened the door to the delicious smell of breakfast. I followed my nose down to the Grand Hall to find it empty. Huh?

"Just help yourself, Cameron. Tomorrow you'll have to wait for the teachers to come in. It's still summer as far as I'm concerned until noon today and we don't use that rule in the summer," Professor Buckingham greeted.

I remembered my manners and greeted her, then proceeded to get a delicious looking breakfast. If this is what was served everyday, I was in luck. I've been having cold cereal for breakfast as long as I can remember. I love my Mom and all, but she really can't cook.

Once I finished breakfast, I headed back up to my room. There were only three beds and some of the other rooms I looked in had four, so I'm assuming I'm getting off easy.

"Hey kiddo?" Mom popped in.

"Yeah Mom?"

"How's it going? I didn't really get a chance to talk to you yesterday, getting settled in and all."

"It's fine. It's just so quiet."

She laughed. "Not for long. Just wait till the other girls get here. It won't be so quiet anymore."

"How many girls will be here? I mean in the whole school."

"101. Don't worry, you'll make some new friends, and these you won't have to keep secrets from. Unless you want to."

That would be different, not having to keep secrets. "Do you know what my roommates names are?" I asked hoping she would answer me.

"I'll tell you their names, and one minor fact about each of them and that's all. You'll have to wait until noon. I'll expect you to be down there ready to help lead them up here." She paused as she waited for me to nod. "Okay then, their names are Elizabeth Sutton and Rebecca Baxter. Elizabeth is from Alabama and her parents are dentists. Rebecca is from London—"

"Wait a minute, Mom. I thought only girls from _America_ could go to Gallagher Academy?" I interrupted.

"If you hadn't interrupted, I would have gotten to that, but since you did, you can ask her yourself," she smiled.

_What! Completely _not_ fair!_ "Fine. It's only another four hours," I grumbled.

She smiled. "Now, did get everything unpacked?"

"Yeah." I tried to smile, but it was hard. This was my new room. Everything I owned except for a few things that I could live without for the school year was here. There wasn't much. When Mom told me we were moving, I downsized a lot. I sorted through my books and told Mom to give the ones from when I was really little away. She didn't though. She never told me, I just knew. She sent them to Grandma and Grandpa Morgan's house where they would store them in the attic for us. I also got rid of most of the thousand and one stuffed animals and Barbie's I had. I kept one of the Barbie's and the special stuffed animals. I got rid of my dress up things too.

So all that I had left were my knickknacks that Mom and Dad got for me, my clothes, the few books and toys that I kept, and my jewelry. I didn't wear much jewelry, but if there was ever a need to I don't know, install a camera in one, I would be glad I had it.

Mom sat next to me on the bed. "I know it'll be hard, sweetie, but I know you can do it. And I'll be here whenever you need me. And I can guarantee that you'll be friends with your roommates. There's a special bond that forms. Trust me, you become closer than sisters, and I had to share a room with mine."

"You shared a room with Aunt Abby? I thought they split up the groups by grade?"

"They do, but you know Abby's only a year younger than me, and I only had two roommates, kind of like you will, and the headmistress figured that since we were already sisters, we would get a long better."

"But when you left, didn't she have a room to herself?"

Mom laughed. "No. For Abby's senior year, she had to share a room with three seventh graders. I think she more or less lived in the senior common room that year. Now, I hate to leave you, but I do have a few things I need to take care of before the rest of your classmates show up. Do you think you can handle four hours on your own?"  
I sat up straight, ready to prove to my Mom that I _was_ strong enough. "Of course I can. I'll get better aquatinted with the school, we'll become friends."

She rolled her eyes. "Just don't get into any trouble. And if you do, I won't let you go down to Roseville with your classmates on Saturday, though I don't know if any of you will be able to," she replied cryptically.

What was she talking about, being able to? Roseville was only two miles away. Two miles was _not_ far to walk, well, at least if you've grown up in Washington DC and walked everywhere almost your entire life.

I left my room, going back to the tapestry that had the secret passageway behind it. I wanted to explore it more; I wanted to know where it led. But I also wanted to find out if there were any other secret passageways in the school. Probably, seeing as it was built when there was a need for secret passageways.

I slipped into the passage, and quickly crept through the passage until I came to the window seat again. I stopped only to stare out it before moving on. I was more careful now, not knowing if I would run into any spider webs. I passed a few more windows, stopping to look out each one, but moved on.

I was about to turn around and go back, thinking that it didn't lead anywhere and only opened up to another part of the school that I had missed so far when I turned the corner to find a steep set of spiral stairs in front of me. I carefully walked down the steps, the light disappearing behind me as I descended. When I got to the bottom, there was a wall. _Now that can't be right. There has to be a switch or something, otherwise this passage wouldn't be here at all_.

But hands inched over the slightly damp wall in front of me. I could hardly see anything, praying I wouldn't touch a spider, but my other senses told me that there was something here.

I found it, a loose stone in the wall and pushed it. The wall in front of me creaked open as if it hadn't been opened in a decade or two.

Light spilled into the passage from the other side and I poked my head out. I was on the north side of the school. _Well, that'll be convenient. _I pushed the door open farther until it was wide enough for me to slip out. I pushed the door shut to cover my tracks and leapt out of the flowerbed and turned to inspect the wall from where I had just emerged.

From the outside, there was no way that it looked like an exit from a secret passage. I wanted to inspect it further, but I heard one of the gardeners whistling.

I started jogging in the opposite direction around the building. When I caught sight of the barn, I figured that it wouldn't hurt for me to take a look.

The outside of it looked like a regular barn, but inside, there weren't any stalls. There was a loft where some hay was stored, and the floor was neat and clean with a very thin mat for practicing. There were punching bags in the corner along with some other equipment neatly lying next to it.

I grinned at the punching bag; I hadn't used one since before…Dad left. Suddenly, all my anger at whoever killed him came back. I remember that after I had overcome the shock about his death, I swore that I would be the best spy I could be and would somehow find out who killed him and take care of it personally.

I hadn't been thinking straight then, revenge clouded the mind. But I _would_ be the best spy I could be. I would be the best Gallagher Girl in history. I would make him proud.

But my anger was still there, and I needed to vent. There had been nothing I could punch that night besides my pillow and that was hardly satisfying enough.

I stared at the harmless punching bag, envisioning what I thought was the ultimate killer and punched it with all my might.

It wasn't enough. I kicked it and punched it, using all the moves I had been taught. But punching it square in the jaw satisfied me the most.

I was so caught up in my anger that I hadn't heard anyone enter the barn. I was brought out of my reverie when I heard the clapping.

I spun around startled, only to see one of the teachers, the P&E teacher I think. "Well done, Cameron. But I think we're going to need to work a little on accuracy and positioning. But actually, I'm surprised you know some of the moves you do. Half of the ones that I saw were ones that I teach the sophomores, but then again, with who your mother is I shouldn't be surprised. She never did cease to amaze me. Your aunt never did either."

I blushed. No one ever complimented me on the way I dealt with my anger before or the moves that I used. The only ones who ever saw me use them were the ones who taught me them. "Thank you, Ms. …" I trailed off.

"Hancock. I'm the P&E teacher here. And shouldn't you be getting to the main hall? The girls should start arriving in about twenty minutes."

"But Mom said that they would be here at noon?" I asked, confused.

"Yes. Most of their flights come in at noon, but a few of the girls had to get earlier flights, and I know that they'll be nervous enough when the arrive so you should be there to greet them." I was a subtle order, but I understood.

"Thank you for the advice, Ms. Hancock." She smiled as I jogged out the door and back to the school. I wasn't sure what I would do for another twenty minutes, but I would figure something out.

"There you are Cammie. Follow me, I want to show you where you can find me if you need me," Mom called when she saw me from the open door.

I caught up to her as she disappeared up the staircase. It seemed to me that everyone disappeared up the staircase. I caught sight of her again as she went into a room. When I followed her through, I realized I was in the headmistress's office.

"This is where you will probably be able to find me all the time. I'll be spending a lot of time here as I reorganize some of the things that the old headmistress left. And I've kept forgetting to ask. Would you like to have dinner with me on Sunday nights? That way we'll have some time together because I don't think we'll have much during the week."

"Sure, Mom," I agreed before remembering that my Mom was really bad at cooking.

"Alright then. And I couldn't find you earlier, but I had the maintenance department put them in your room anyway. They found some bean bag chairs in one of the storage rooms yesterday while they were putting some of the few things that I kept but didn't know where to put yet away and they asked if I wanted to keep them or get rid of them seeing as they were the old headmistress's and she didn't want them anymore. You can arrange them however you want, and if you three don't want them, put them in the common room, someone will use them."

"Thanks, Mom."

A buzzer went off on her desk. "Hang on a sec." She pushed the button, "Yes?" then let go of it.

"Just thought you'd want to know Rachel that the first limo is coming through town."  
"Thank you, Steve." She turned to me, "You ready?" she asked as she pulled out a compact and a green light scanned her finger.

"Code Red. Code Red," an electronic voice rang out from the hallway. I jumped, wondering what was going on.

"It's just what we do when the girls first show up. They don't know it's spy school yet, and we let them know that when they're all here. It's easier to control them, of course, some of them already know it's spy school, but they don't say anything yet. Now. Let's go down there and greet our newest student."

Mom led the way down stairs and I was suddenly self-conscious of what I was wearing, jeans and an oversized t-shirt was nothing to wear when greeting fellow classmates. I pulled the bottom of the shirt together and tied it in a bunch with a hair tie. At least it didn't look so bad now.

"You look fine," Mom whispered as she opened the front door. The limo was slowly proceeding up the long driveway. I slowed to a stop in front of us, and before the driver could get out to open the door, the girl inside opened it and stepped out, reveling at the sun.

"Hello, Ms. Morgan. It's nice to finally meet you. My parents have been talking about you so much in the past few weeks. They asked me to extend their thanks to you for them," the girl greeted airily with a strong British accent. I knew immediately that she must be Rebecca Baxter, one of my roommates.

"Hello, Rebecca. It's nice to finally meet you as well, your parents have always talked about you so much. They really do adore you. Do you need help with your bags? Cammie would be happy to help you."

"I know they adore me, and I think I can get my bags myself…but if you would like to help me, I wouldn't mind," she answered.

"Of course I'll help you, Rebecca," I answered before my Mom could for me.

"_Please_, don't call me Rebecca. Call me Bex, Rebecca makes it sound like I'm in trouble," she replied as she turned back to the limo driver. "Thank you, Mr. Schwartz for the ride. I hope I wasn't _too_ much of a pain."

"I'm used to it, Ms. Baxter. Gallagher Girls always seem to cause trouble as well as talk themselves out of it."

I hurried down the steps to grab one of the three bags she had. "Follow me, I'll show you our room."

"We've roommates?" she asked. I could tell I would get along well with her.

"Yeah, we only have one other roommate, Mom said her name is Elizabeth, she's from Alabama and her parents are dentists."

"Cool," she smiled as she followed me through the front door. After a few minutes, she asked, "What'd your Mom say about me?"

"That you're from London, then she stopped because I cut her off when I said that Gallagher Academy only admits girls from the United States."

"Well, she's right about the London part. And from what I've gathered from my parents, your Mom pulled a few strings to get me here. Apparently your Mom has worked with my parents a few times and they've become good friends. My parents work for the MI6, and this is my first time in America."

"Really?"

"Yup. And this doesn't really look like a spy school to me."

"Trust me, it will. Once the other girls arrive and Mom explains to them that they're really going to spy school and not just some prestigious school for smart girls. It's in Code Red mode right now."

"Neat. The _school_ goes under cover too," she mumbled.

"Here we are. I've already claimed that bed," I said pointing, "but you can have either of the other two."

She dropped her bags in the doorway and frowned, "Hmm." She eyed both beds up, then ran and jumped face down onto the middle one. "I want this one," she claimed.

She unpacked her things; she brought some knickknacks her parents gave her as well, all while telling me about herself and me doing the same. She didn't have any siblings either, so sharing a room would be a new experience for her too. She asked about my Mom, but didn't say anything about my Dad, I was grateful for that.

By the time she was done unpacking, we knew quite a bit about each other. Someone knocked on our door. "Girls, some more of your classmates will be arriving shortly. It's almost eleven thirty," Professor Buckingham said through the door.

"So is everyone arriving today?" Bex asked.

"No, just all the seventh graders. The rest will be arriving throughout the day tomorrow. It's supposed to be so we have an extra day to find our way around and get settled in. Apparently, we're allowed to leave things here over the summer, and the rest of the girls only have to bring a bag or two seeing as we have to wear uniforms."

"What do they look like anyway?"

"I don't know. The cleaning crew is washing and ironing them all today, so we'll get them tomorrow. But I have seen pictures of my Mom in them, and I _really_ hope they don't look the same."

"Why?" Bex asked warily.

"Because they're really ugly and look like they came out of a costume box for a play in the twenties."

"Oh boy."

"Yeah. But if they are the same, then I'll see if I can persuade my Mom to let us get new uniforms."

"Now _that_ sounds like a plan and I think we should get going. I think I just heard a door close."

We ran down the stairs, giggling a little as we went, and skidded to a stop right inside the door.

Mom was busy greeting one of the girls who looked really nervous and another limo was coming up the driveway. I looked at Bex about the same time she looked at me and we swooped down and hooked an arm in each of hers. I vaguely remember Mom saying her name was Courtney. "Hello, Courtney. Welcome to Gallagher Academy. I'm Cammie—"

"And I'm Bex." We grabbed her bags, slinging them over our shoulders as we guided her to the door. Professor Buckingham was inside the door, ready to give room assignment out. "This is Professor Buckingham."

"Hello, Ms. Bauer," she greeted, flipping through her stack of papers. "Here is your room number and a map of the school." Courtney unhooked her arm to grab the papers, but I quickly re-hooked her arm as Bex led her to the staircase. "Why don't you girls wait for Ms. Walters, you can show her her room as well," she suggested.

Ms. Walters walked in, struggling with her bags. Bex handed Courtney her bag and went to help Ms. Walters. "Ms. Walters, these are Ms. Baxter, Ms. Bauer, and Ms. Morgan. They'll show you where your room is," Buckingham said as she handed her the papers.

I spoke up then, really not wanting to be introduced as 'Ms. Morgan.' It made me sound so old. "Professor Buckingham, I don't want to be rude or anything, but when you introduce me, can you please just call me Cammie?" I asked.

"Of course, Cammie. Old habits die hard you know."

"I'm Tina, by the way."

"Courtney."

"Bex." Bex got a weird look from Tina. "It's a combination of my first and last names. I'm really Rebecca Baxter, but don't even_ think_ of calling me Becky."

"Calm down, Bex. Becky's too long anyway."

We showed Tina and Courtney to their rooms, they each got first pick of the four beds in their rooms. And then we started over. Our last roommate arrived after Eva and Anna. Elizabeth was skinny as a twig and looked as if she had no muscle what so ever. She looked more book smart than street smart to me, but I could be wrong. Elizabeth waited for the driver to hand her her bags before she turned to us. "Hello ya'll," Elizabeth greeted in a feminine version of a southern drawl. "I'm Elizabeth Sutton, but you can call me Liz."

"Hi Liz. I'm Cammie and this is Bex and we're all roommates."

"Cool." Liz came forward then, but tripped on a strap hanging from one of her bags. The bag fell to the ground, but Liz caught herself, "Oopsy daisy," she giggled. We laughed with her. She was obviously used to be a little bit of a klutz and laughing over her clumsiness, so I didn't think that there would be a problem with us laughing as well.

More limos arrived, bringing the last of our classmates, but we greeted them as they passed by our door or popped in to see their new classmates instead of at the door like we had been doing.

Liz was almost unpacked when Professor Buckingham called from the end of the hall that it was time for the tour of the building. We followed her down the stairs into the grand hall, all of us gathered in groups of two or three, quietly commenting about little thinks they saw.

"Have a seat girls," Mom said, pointing to the seventh grade table. I sat down in the seat that I had claimed as my own and waited for the others to do the same.

When we were all seated, Mom continued, "Welcome to Gallagher Academy, girls. I believe that I've had a chance to meet you all as you arrived, and I am very proud to have you here this year. Now, there is one secret that you must be aware of before you start your tour."

Bex's smile was so big I thought her face would break; Liz's face on the other hand, was scrunched in confusion. I glanced around the table noticing who else didn't look confused. There were only three others besides Bex and I: Tina Walters (she was a _third_ generation Gallagher Girl and her Mom and Grandmother work for a newspaper company writing coded gossip columns), Kim Lee (her Mom is a Gallagher Girl and currently working for the FBI), and Eva Alverez (her Mom is in CIA and graduated two years after my Mom, so Eva couldn't really do anything bad or her Mom would hear about it). The rest of the girls: Anna Fetterman, Courtney Bauer, and Mick Morrison, however, were clueless.

"Now I don't want any hysterics and you should all know that with whatever you learn here at Gallagher Academy, you are free to do _whatever_ you want with it. Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women was founded in 1865 by Gillian Gallagher who at the time had been refused admittance into the CIA because she was a woman. Gillian decided to prove to the government that girls _could_ be spies, and at times, much better than men. Girls, this is a school for exceptional women that many girls apply to, but you have all been chosen to learn a very exceptional education."

Bex, Tina, Kim, Eva and I looked at each other then at my Mom. She was waiting for us to say it. We all smiled and said, "Welcome to Spy School."

Liz stared at us like we were aliens. Anna's jaw dropped as if she couldn't believe this was happening to her, Mick's face lit up as if this was the best thing that could ever happen to her, and Courtney fainted.

It took a minute for it to sink in. Courtney came to when Professor Buckingham held something under her nose. "But if this really is a spy school, why does it look like any other boarding school?" Anna asked.

Mom smiled and pulled out a compact. It scanned her finger and the school showed it's true colors, the Code Red hiding behind the walls again.

Courtney's eyes grew wide again and I thought she was going to faint again, but she just swallowed hard and took it all in. Liz's jaw dropped and I could see in her eyes that she had a thousand and one questions to ask but was holding them back for now. She would probably ask us later.

"You must know girls, that _no one_, not even your parents, will ever know what you learn inside these walls. It's the only reason why the outside world doesn't know what we learn here and just thinks that we're another school for privileged girls. Now, I believe it's time for your tour," Mom dismissed.

The tour was boring, except for the little incident with Gillian's sword and Mick's hair on fire, but otherwise went by without a hitch. We soon found that it was time for dinner and our stomachs rumbling.

At the end of the tour, we were led back into the Grand Hall. The smell of the steaming food sitting on the table caused our stomachs to rumble louder. We sat down at the table, waiting for the teachers to arrive so that we could dig in and get back up to our rooms where those who just found out today would be quizzing those of us that did know about what actually happened here, what we would learn, and what we could expect come Wednesday.

After dinner, we were all tired and our stomachs satisfied with the amazing dinner that had been provided to us. As we all headed up to our rooms, I suggested that we all go to the common room so we could get to know each other better.

We entered to find the fireplace roaring, some oversized pillows stacked neatly by the wall, and some very comfortable looking blankets folded over the back of the sofa. It was the first time any of us entered it, but as we did, we closed the door behind us. Not that it would do us much good if the teachers really wanted to hear what we were saying.

We all got comfortable, but no one broke the ice. Finally, it was Tina who said, "So what do you all want to know?"

"What classes are we going to have if we're going to spy school? How do they teach us to get ready to be a spy?" Liz asked.

"Well, there's computing where we learn to break CIA codes, Culture and Assimilation, my Mom says that class is really fun and you learn to be a lady, umm…" Tina trailed off.

"Protection and Enforcement. You learn the physical part of it there," I added.

"Fourteen different languages, but we only learn six this year: Spanish, French, Chinese, Latin, German and Korean," Bex continued.

"Countries of the World where you learn anything and everything about almost every country," Kim said.

"And a lot of science classes," Eva finished.

We chatted for another two hours or so until Courtney whispered, "Does anyone know what Wednesday will be like?"

The five of us looked at each other and shrugged. None of us knew the answer to that. "All I know is that it's going to be hard. _Really _hard," I whispered back.

We all decided that it was time we got to bed, not knowing what time they stopped serving breakfast and not wanting to miss it. We put out the dying fire in the fire place and walked back to our rooms and crawled into bed.

Once the light was out though, Wednesday didn't matter any more. We were alone now. Of course we had each other, but there were no parents to ask for help. We only had each other and I wanted to cry.

I heard Bex and Liz quietly crying themselves to sleep. And I knew they weren't the only ones. I would bet that a majority of the seventh grade class was crying themselves to sleep tonight. It made me feel better, not that they were homesick, but that they were missing someone as well. I might be the only seventh grader that lost a parent, but I was glad that they too understood. Tomorrow would be a new day and we'd just pick up where we left off today and I guess it was okay to cry once in a while, no matter how tough we wanted to look.

**Wow. This is a long chapter, but I couldn't split it up, it wouldn't work with my title. That's why it took so long to get up and I was trying to get it just right. I'm not sure about the end though, it doesn't exactly seem to fit, but I'm done trying to make it work. PLEASE review guys, it would really make my day!**


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